Three alleged gang members have been charged with murdering a former Newark high school football star in 2010, police said Wednesday.

The arrests Monday came just a few days shy of the two-year mark since 17-year-old Justice Afoa was stabbed to death just a half mile from Newark Memorial High School, where he had starred as a defensive lineman the year before. He was standing at Cedar Boulevard and Birch Street when the attack happened on the afternoon of Dec. 15, 2010.

Arrested and charged with murder and conspiracy were Rafael Tovar, 32, of Newark; Daniel Howard, 31, of Fremont; and Tovar's sister, Daniela Guzman, 19, of Newark. All are being held without bail at the county jail in Dublin.

The suspects, described by authorities as gang members, killed Afoa to get even for an earlier fight between Afoa and Tovar at Tovar's home, said Newark police Cmdr. Mike Carroll. That fight caused Tovar "great embarrassment" because of his gang affiliation and the age difference with Afoa, Detective Dan Anderson wrote in court papers. The three were linked to the slaying with the help of an analysis of their cell phone records and text messages that revealed their animosity for Afoa, authorities said.

"The investigation revealed that this was not a random incident, but a premeditated and deliberate attack in retaliation for a previous incident several months prior," Carroll said.

Howard, who has convictions for assault and false imprisonment, has also been charged with attempted murder and making criminal threats for allegedly trying to kill a woman last month. Tovar has convictions for obliterating a gun's identification, auto theft, and drug and gun possession.

Guzman was 17 at the time but has been charged as an adult.

Afoa had been a defensive lineman on the school football team and made second team all-league in the Mission Valley Athletic League in the 2009 season.

He had transferred to another campus to catch up with his grades but still attended his old school's football team breakfasts, watched practices and lifted weights with other players, his mother, Suvania Afoa, has said.